Would you re-sign Pau for ~7 million per?

August 14, 2012 11:45 AM EDTOn Friday, the Lakers pulled off the biggest trade of the summer by finally acquiring Dwight Howard.

After dealing for both Howard and Steve Nash in the span of a few weeks, Los Angeles might be done making any more moves this offseason. But even after making two big trades, could L.A. be in the market for another star player?Hawks power forward Josh Smith has been on the Lakers radar since last season ended. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, L.A. recently tried to deal Pau Gasol for Smith. Atlanta rejected the offer because Los Angeles wanted the Hawks to give up another good player, along with Smith.

The Lakers have come close to dealing Gasol on multiple occasions in the past year. They sent him to Houston in December in a trade that netted them Chris Paul, but the deal was ultimately vetoed by NBA Commissioner David Stern.

He was also in the talks last week that ultimately sent Howard to L.A. There were reports that Gasol would be headed to Orlando, but Los Angeles managed to hold on to him.Atlanta might only be willing to come to an agreement with L.A. if they can do a straight up swap of the two players. Smith is five years younger than Gasol and probably had the better 2011-2012 season. The eighth-year player registered career highs with 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Gasol averaged a career low 17.4 points per contest and was left off the All-Star team for the first time in three years.

A deal is still possible, though, because of Smith's level of unhappiness in Atlanta. He wants to be traded and could leave the Hawks when he becomes a free agent in 2013. If Atlanta wants to make sure they don't lose their star for nothing, they might look to move him before the start of the season for the best available package.

While Los Angeles is now one of the favorites to win the NBA title, they are one of the oldest teams in the league. Kobe Bryant, Gasol and Nash have played a combined 43 years in the NBA. Howard is still young, but the Lakers age might prevent them from being great for an extended period of time. L.A. might be looking to trade Gasol for a younger piece that will keep them competitive for years to come.

The one reservation the Lakers might have in making a deal is Smith's contract status. They were initially leery of acquiring Howard because he wouldn't give them a guarantee that he'd re-sign with them. It's also likely that Smith would wait until next summer to sign an extension. There's a chance that the Lakers could trade Gasol and Bynum in the same offseason, and be left with nothing in less than a year.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, Howard and Smith have a very good relationship. Howard is from Atlanta and the two are very good friends. Acquiring Smith might be the final nail in the coffin to keep Howard from signing with Dallas as a free agent.

Nothing is imminent, but there are rumors that the trade could be revisted soon.

A swap of Gasol and Smith would make sense for both teams. The Lakers would get younger and move one step closer to keeping Howard in L.A. for the long-term. The Hawks would get a veteran player with championship experience and receive compensation for Smith should he leave as a free agent.

With the additions of Howard, Nash and possibly Smith, the Lakers could be a completely different team next season.

I wouldn't mind if a trade went down. If they do it's blatantly obvious why they pulled the trigger on the deal and I can understand it from that perspective.

Defensively we would be a monster, offensively J-Smoove would need to tone down the, I can shoot 3's if I want to act and stop the chucking, but I don't think he would have the ball in his hands as much as he did on the Hawks or chuck as much with the weapons we have here.

Nash would be throwing oops left and right between Howard and Smith.

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Never was sold on Smith. No question he's athletic but freelances too much for my taste. Great on the open floor but doesn't have a multifaceted overall game in half court sets when the pace slows to a crawl and possessions are at a premium.

karacha wrote:I would not do this. Pau is a perfect fit for this team and there is absolutely no need to experiment with a Smith/Howard combo.

+1

"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

Just imagine....holy crap lol. Nash would have the most athletic front court of all times to feed the ball to.

We would literally be Air Lakers. And Smith is another insane help defender. Our D would be through the roof.I would do it. Cheaper, younger, more in line with Mike Brown. Gasol has 1,2 years left to be irrelevant.

"It is not how big you are, it is how big you play""Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it""Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals"

I don't think we would win anything with Josh as our starting PF as talented as he is ... Can't rely on him at all in key playoffs moments ... a much more talented PF version of Shannon Brown .. Plus when it comes to halfcourt offense he's a terrible fit

If it means anything, I found on Hoopsworld that Pau's 15% trade kicker doesn't affect his salary since it is already over the max.

Not sure if that was old news, but just wanted to mention it since I remember seeing some articles about how difficult it would be to trade him with the trade kicker.

That said, I haven't seen much of Smith, but according to their overall stats and shot statistics, it looks like Gasol is a much better outside shooter so I don't know if I'd do that trade. But perhaps with the addition of Nash, we should try putting a better defensive team together since the offense would take care of itself in a way...

"Why are they blocking out all the good stuff? They let Sarah Jessica Parker's face on TV and she looks like a foot!!"